Paying tribute to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople for his contributions to the theology and spirituality of care for the environment, the Franciscan-run Pontifical University Antonianum awarded him an honorary doctorate.
When 12 Greek Catholic bishops from Ukraine met with the Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI on Sept. 10, the retired pontiff invited them to be a force for unity in today’s “increasingly fractured and divided world.”
Tens of thousands of Romanians converged to celebrate Mass with Pope Francis June 1. Francis urged that they not listen to people wanting to "provoke division" among them, but instead "live together as brothers and sisters."
Pope Francis will undertake some of the most intensive in-country travel yet planned in his six years of trips abroad, beatifying seven bishops from the Romanian Greek Catholic Church and, in a rare move, praying with an Orthodox patriarch.
Visiting the small Catholic communities in Bulgaria and North Macedonia offered an opportunity to encourage the faithful to remember God's miracle of being able to feed a multitude with just a few loaves and fishes, Pope Francis said.
Experts say the May 5-7 papal visit to Bulgaria and North Macedonia could be particularly sensitive, as Francis will be facing individual, historic difficulties with the countries' separate Orthodox communities.
Bulgaria's predominant Orthodox Church has ordered its clergy not to take part in prayers or services with the pope when he visits the country in early May.
In a few days, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew, the foremost leader in the Eastern Christian church, is scheduled to recognize the newly founded Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
